Rudolph the Red Scaled Dragon
by acci0dramione
Summary: OOC/ONE SHOT/DMHR Hermione helps Hagrid by hiding a baby dragon in the library, and Draco grows rather fond of the tiny, scaly thing. !COVER PHOTO CREDIT: Captbexx on !


Hermione's loud footsteps echoed through the library, and Draco heard her long before he actually saw her. She was huddling something close to her chest, with flushed cheeks and a distraught look on her face.

"Granger?" he said skeptically. He raised his eyebrow slightly at the sight of her.

"No time to fight, Malfoy," she said, pushing past him towards the fireplace.

"Hey!" he shouted. "What the hell are you holding? Answer me, Granger!"

"Not that it's any of your concern," she spat. "But Hagrid gave me this baby, and I've got to hide it somehow!"

She scurried to the fireplace and placed a bundle of blankets into the fire. Draco stood up at once, panicking, rushing towards the fireplace.

He pushed Hermione out of his way. "Did you just throw a baby into the fire, Granger? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

He almost reached his hand in, before Hermione grabbed his arms and pulled him back.

She laughed (which caused Draco to look at her even more ecstatically), "No, you bloody idiot, it's a _baby_ _dragon_."

He let out a sigh of relief, and then the skeptical look on his face returned. "You're hiding it from who exactly?"

"The Ministry. They've come to check Hagrid's hut again." She was staring at the blankets again, watching the dragon shimmy around in the fire and soot.

"And he's obviously doing more illegal breeding and caring. . ."

"Malfoy! Would you keep your voice down? For Merlin's sake."

"What? I don't understand why he can't just listen to rules for once in his life."

"They're stupid rules," Hermione said angrily. "And that's coming from me."

Suddenly, the baby dragon outstretched its wings, which were disproportioned to its tiny, scaly red body, and let out a screech. Hermione scrambled to pick it up out of the flames and pet it, whilst attempting to avoid burning herself. It was a strenuous task, but she managed.

The baby dragon huddled into her robe and curled its tail around her neck, leaving soot all over her uniform and face. She anxiously tried to shield it away from the rest of the library.

"What's that beast doing to you?" Draco asked from behind her lifted shoulders.

"He's cuddling me, Malfoy," she groaned. "Sorry, I forgot you were sheltered from affection when you were his age."

Draco ignored her insult, proceeding to lean over her to get a look at the dragon. "Dragon's have ages, do they? How old's this one?"

"He's 6 months old. Just grew these wings in. They're growing at a faster rate than the rest of his body. Hagrid says he tries to lift himself off," she stroked the scaly skin on the top of the dragon's head. In the light of the fireplace, it glittered a tinge of gold. "Just doesn't seem to work, does it, Rudolph?"

Draco scoffed. "Rudolph? What kind of name is that for a dragon?"

"I recommended it. It's a muggle story-song, about Christmas," she said. "It goes like this — _Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer! . ._ "

"Please, Granger," he said, raising his hand in her face. "I think I've heard enough already."

She blushed. "Anyway, it's a play on words about his nose. His scales are the same colour as Rudolph's nose."

"Quite," Draco said. He stared at the baby dragon for a long time, and Hermione could have sworn she saw a smile appear on his face.

"He's cute, isn't he?" she said absentmindedly.

"He's alright, for a beast."

"You can hold him if you'd like. I'll just wipe off the soot—"

She handed him Rudolph, who outstretched his wings and wrapped them around Draco's face. Draco laughed and pulled his head away.

"What a creature," he chuckled. "I wonder what it's like to raise something like this. . . How big do these things get?"

Hermione furrowed her brows in thought. "Well, Rudolph's a Chinese Fireball, so he'll grow up to be about 25 feet long, I reckon."

"How do you know all of this?" Draco asked in awe.

"I actually listen to Hagrid's lessons. Not all of us get away with being an asshole," she said begrudgingly.

He laughed. "An asshole, Granger? Surely an asshole wouldn't be this gentle with a baby."

"No," she said quietly. "I suppose not."

She watched Draco cradle the dragon as if it _were_ an actual child. He let the dragon climb around his neck, leaving soot marks on his collar. He laughed when the dragon turned his head to sneeze, letting out a small flame from his nostrils. Draco, when he was like this, was almost tolerable. Hermione felt rather sick at the thought.

"Look at his eyes, Granger!"

Rudolph's eyes were very protuberant, and were the colour of quill ink. Hermione saw herself in the reflection.

She realized then that she was covered in soot and ash, from her head to her toes. She quickly tried to brush away the ash that was covering his nose, and the smudge of soot across her forehead.

Draco laughed as he watched her, and even outstretched a sleeve to help her wipe away a spot she missed.

"There," he said in a hushed voice, lowering his now dirtied sleeve away from her face. "All clean."

Hermione stared up at him. "Th-thanks, Malfoy."

He turned his attention back to the dragon, gulping away the awkwardness they both felt. Rudolph continued to entertain them both for the next hour or so, before Hermione had to return him back to Hagrid's hut.

"Can I come?" Draco asked. "I wanna see if he has any others. Maybe I'll buy an egg off him or something."

"You can't just raise a dragon in a dorm room! It takes time, effort, and lots of space!"

"Hagrid's done it with just a hut to keep them in, hasn't he?" Draco asked with a raised brow.

"Hagrid also doesn't have a lot of homework to do, a lot of classes to attend—"

"He's a teacher, Granger."

"Yes, but—"

"Exactly. It'll be fine. I'll even ask for Hagrid's help occasionally, if that makes you feel any better."

"It really doesn't, but. . ."

"You know what, Granger? I might even adopt this guy!" Rudolph screeched and huddled into Draco's chest. "See? Even he likes the idea."

"Oh, Merlin. . ."


End file.
